New and interested but being mislead

[Lawnmowerman]

Hello all, thank you for letting me join this board. After looking at these products and the delta kits I am now convinced it is worth the investment against some other peoples wishes. But I am a bit confused and excuse my ignorance because these are facts, I know 2 people doing windshield repair (cracks not whole replacment windshields), there business plan is they hook up with car washes and are able to make the sale by letting the customer know they can repair the crack or chip at no cost, just fill out insurance form they have and submit it and the insurance company pays em. Repair takes like 20 minutes or so and they make insane money for a bunch of morons. 1 did it in arizona for a while and made tons! But they don't have all the proper certifications, apparantly they are just registered and thats all they say it takes to get calls from insurance companies even for jobs to drive to. They think I am an idiot for worrying about safety and the proper credentials but if someone gets hurt with a faulty repair, they would be in big trouble. But honestly, they are cleaning up and actually do submit invoices to insurance companies and get paid, I have seen it. Apparantly arizona has no deductable so it was easy there but now they are hooked up in New Jersey and claim its all about getting in with car washes. I don't like it at all but googling it, all these courses require proper training which I know they don't have. So what am I missing, I am paying for the delta kit because of the high feedback but now I want to distance myself from them as I am worried it could get me in trouble. How are they able to do this by just learning to repair and actuallly get paid from insurance? They say all you need is to be "registered". I was in an accident due to a cracked windshield so it really hits home, but if the car washes love them, insurance pays them then something is not right. New jersey is supposed to be tough too!
Sorry for the long rant, I just am fed up with them! Any explanation or am I making no sense??

[Brent Deines]

Welcome to the windshield repair forum lawnmowerman. Who is misleading you?

There are currently no requirements for windshield repair technicians to be certified, but at Delta Kits we certify windshield repair technicians who "successfully" complete our training class. In order to be Delta Kits certified a technician must attend the class, demonstrate their ability to successfully complete a repair using a Delta Kits injector and Delta Kits methods, and pass our written exam that is based on the ROLAGS ANSI standard for windshield repair that was developed by the National Glass Association and the National Windshield Repair Association. All Delta Kits trainers are certified by Delta Kits, the NGA, and the NWRA.

We recommend Delta Kits training and certification to Delta Kits customers because it is the best way to learn to use our equipment properly, and believe that someday practical training may very well be required by networks, insurance companies and/or state governments. We believe Delta Kits customers who are Delta Kits certified are on average far better technicians than customers who are not Delta Kits certified, and are therefore typically more successful.

Delta Kits also recommends that technicians take the NGA and NWRA certifications, which are online courses based on ROLAGS. Currently some networks recognize NGA and NWRA certifications and I believe that it is quite likely that networks, insurance companies and/or state governments may require one or both of these at some point in the future. In addition, the NGA offers continuing education and reference materials for auto glass repair technicians. We recommend NGA and NWRA certifications because we believe the more knowledge you have about your industry the more likely you are to do quality work and therefore the more likely you are to be successful.

Although I am not personally a big fan of “excessive” regulation in the windshield repair, or any other industry for that matter, I am very concerned about the reputation of our industry, so Delta Kits has been and will continue to be involved in both the NGA and the NWRA as certifications and standards are developed. We also have been and will continue to be involved in the development of ROLAGS.

I see Delta Kits’ role in the development of industry certifications and standards to be one of trying to improve the quality and consistency standards of work being performed by windshield repair technicians, but I am against making the industry more restrictive of costly for windshield repair technicians. I would like to see the standards remain voluntary, but provide benefits for those who choose to comply. I started out just like most other windshield repair technicians, with just a few bucks in my pocket but a great deal of enthusiasm. Had it been too expensive or had there been too many regulations I would have never had the opportunity to start the business that has fed my family and the families of my employees for the past 23 years. My goal is to make it easier for windshield repair technicians to be successful in the industry that I love, not to make it more difficult.

Most agree that we have to eliminate the fraudulent practices that currently plague our industry, but that fact is that we see fraud in every industry regardless of the amount of regulation, so being overly restrictive is not the answer in my opinion. One look at the banking industry, the medical industry, and our federal, state, and local governments in this country proves that excess regulation does not equate to the elimination of fraud and the promotion of quality. We will never get everyone involved, but we need to find a way to get the majority of windshield repair technicians interested in improving our industry.

I will say it again. Currently there are no requirements for any type of certification, so although Delta Kits promote and encourage hands on training for all windshield repair technicians, most are not certified. Hope this helps.